Fatal wreck, plane crash occur in thick fog

Published 11:55 pm, Thursday, November 1, 2012

Photo: Jack Garcia, For The Express-News

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State troopers and emergency crews canvas a crash scene where two people died and four others injured this morning when two pickups collided head-on in Atascosa County. Another vehicle also was involved in the accident. The crash happened on Texas 16 near Jourdanton on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012.

State troopers and emergency crews canvas a crash scene where two people died and four others injured this morning when two pickups collided head-on in Atascosa County. Another vehicle also was involved in the

A demolished truck is removed from a crash scene where two people died and four others injured this morning when two pickups collided head-on in Atascosa County. Another vehicle also was involved in the accident. The crash happened on Texas 16 near Jourdanton on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012.

A demolished truck is removed from a crash scene where two people died and four others injured this morning when two pickups collided head-on in Atascosa County. Another vehicle also was involved in the

Thursday morning’s thick fog might be to blame for a three-vehicle wreck that killed two people in Atascosa County and for a plane crash east of San Marcos that killed a Cessna pilot.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Jason Reyes said the driver of a southbound Chevrolet pickup was trying to pass another vehicle on Texas 16 just south of FM 140 about 6:40 a.m. when he collided head-on with a northbound Ford F-350.

A third vehicle traveling south then hit the two trucks.

The Chevrolet pickup’s driver, 40, died at the scene. A 57-year-old Houston man in the rear of the pickup also died.

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Their names haven’t been released pending notification of relatives.

Two other people in the Chevrolet truck and the drivers of the other two vehicles were rushed to area hospitals with serious injuries. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.

About 40 minutes before the wreck, the small Cessna crashed in heavy fog off Texas 21 just east of Texas 80 in Caldwell County.

KVUE-TV in Austin identified the pilot as Clarence Schollmeyer, 66, of North Dakota. Officials said he was flying alone.

DPS Trooper Robbie Barrera said Schollmeyer had taken off from San Marcos Municipal Airport and was trying to return when he crashed on land operated by the federal Gary Job Corps Center, about a mile from the airport.

Airport spokesman Stephen Alexander said the Cessna apparently burned on impact. Official said a person who saw the fireball reported the crash.

Authorities are trying to learn why the plane went down. Barrera said weather hasn’t been ruled out as a factor.

A fog advisory was in effect at the time of the crashes, with visibility of only ⅛ of a mile about 6 a.m. at San Antonio International Airport.

From 6 to 10 a.m., 61 wrecks were reported to the San Antonio Police Department, five of them considered major. On average, SAPD gets calls for about 120 minor wrecks and 10 major ones in an entire day.

The fog lingered longer than it would during the summer because the sun comes up later in the fall — sunrise Thursday was 7:47 a.m. — and it’s at a lower angle, National Weather Service forecaster Jim Ellis said.

Heavy fog is expected again this morning, with visibility of a half-mile or less at sunrise.

“It could be similar to what we had this morning,” Ellis said.

San Antonio police spokesman Officer Matthew Porter urged drivers to give themselves more time to reach their destinations.